Secured credit cards are an excellent choice for individuals seeking to rebuild their credit. With these cards, you can boost your credit score by putting down a security deposit, typically matching your card’s credit limit, and every time you make a payment on your card, it gets reported to credit bureaus, helping you rebuild your credit history.
Unfortunately, the Bank of Montreal (BMO), like other big banks in Canada, does not currently offer secured credit cards. Instead, BMO offers other excellent credit card options to Canadians with decent but not too high credit scores, seeking low-cost credit cards with favourable interest rates.
In this blog post, we will share some of the best secured credit cards available in Canada for those interested in building credit, discussing their features, interest rates and annual fees. Additionally, we will also present some of the best BMO credit cards in Canada with excellent features suitable for Canadians with fair credit.
5 Best Secured Credit Cards in Canada
Since there’s no BMO Secured Credit Cards in Canada, what are the available options? Generally, different secured credit cards in Canada have varying interest rates, fees, rewards and benefits.
However, the following secured credit cards stand out in the competition in terms of annual interest rates and fees:
1. Home Trust Secured Visa
- Annual Interest Rate on Cash Advance Balance: 19.99%/14.90%
- Annual Fee: $0/$59
- Minimum Deposit: $500
The Home Trust Secured Visa is a popular secured card in Canada, offering low-cost credit-building solutions. This card comes in two versions. The first version charges 19.99% annual interest rates on cash advance balance with no annual fee.
The second version charges 14.90% annual interest rates on cash advance balance with a $59 annual fee. Whatever way you look at it, the Home Trust Secured Visa is cost-saving. This is because you can still save on fees by paying the 19.99% annual interest rate or paying the $59 annual fee and saving on interest.
With this credit card, you can get a credit limit regardless of your credit history or whether you have filed for bankruptcy. However, the Home Trust Secured Visa is available in all Canadian provinces and territories except Quebec.
2. Plastk Secured Credit Card
- Annual Interest Rate on Purchase: 17.99%
- Annual Fee: $120
- Minimum Deposit: $300
The Plastk Secured Credit Card offers robust credit-building solutions with competitive interest rates. With this credit card, you can:
- Check your credit score free
- Earn rewards points on eligible purchases
- Earn 5,000 points ($20 value) welcome bonus
- Enjoy your first three months with 0% APR on purchases
This all-inclusive secured credit card is cost-saving for new cardholders, students and individuals looking to rebuild their credit scores. However, in addition to reaching the age of majority in your province/territory, you must be capable of paying the security deposit to qualify for this card.
3. Capital One Guaranteed Secured Mastercard
- Annual Interest Rate on Purchase: 19.80%
- Annual Fee: $59
- Minimum Deposit: $75
The Capital One Guaranteed Secured Mastercard is one of the best Mastercards in Canada due to its wide range of credit-building solutions. Unlike other secured credit cards, this card has guaranteed credit card approval for all eligible applicants. The requirements are:
- Reach the age of majority in your province or territory.
- Provide a $75 or $300 security deposit.
- Have no Capital One account, bad account, or more than one account application history in the last 30 days.
- Have no pending applications.
Regardless of the interest rate and annual fee, Capital One Guaranteed Secured Mastercard sets itself apart from the competition with its low-security deposit requirements. Unlike most secured cards that require a minimum deposit of $500, this card allows you to deposit a minimum of $75 or $300. Moreover, this card has zero liability protection, protecting you against unauthorised card usage.
4. Refresh Financial Secured Card
- Annual Interest Rate on Purchase: 17.99%
- Annual Fee: $12.95
Refresh Financial Secured Card is another best-secured credit card in Canada, offering competitive credit-building solutions. The 17.99% annual interest rates and $12.95 annual fees are less than those of the most secure cards in Canada.
The Refresh Financial Secured Card is ideal if you’re looking for low-cost customised credit-building solutions in Canada.
READ MORE: Refresh Financial Review
5. Scotiabank Value Visa Card
- Annual Interest Rate on Purchase: 12.99%
- Annual Fee: $29
The Scotiabank Value Visa Card is Canada’s best-secured credit card with low interest rates. This card has one of the industry’s lowest standard interest rates of 12.99% on purchases and cash advances.
Furthermore, its 0.99% introductory interest rate on balance transfers is one of the industry’s lowest. Like most secured credit cards, this card requires a $500 minimum security deposit. It also comes with basic and comprehensive insurance coverage for death, critical illness and job loss.
The Best BMO Credit Cards
Although BMO doesn’t offer secured credit cards, they do provide a selection of other excellent credit card options tailored for Canadians with decent credit scores, typically around 660 or higher. These cards come with fantastic features and competitive interest rates.
Here are the top 4 BMO credit cards in Canada:
1. BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard
The BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard is a low-cost credit card with a 12.99% interest rate on purchases and 15.99% on cash advances. This card offers up to nine months with 3.99% introductory interest rates, one of the industry’s lowest.
With a $20 annual fee, individuals with good credit scores can save a lot with the BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard. The $20 annual fee is waived for cardholders with a BMO Performance chequing account.
Key Features
- Safety and security: You can lock and unlock your card anytime, helping you avoid unauthorised usage.
- Credit score: You can check your credit score through the BMO site or mobile app free without impacting your credit.
- Financial insights: BMO offers customised financial tips for cardholders, helping them stay on top of their finances.
- Detailed transaction view: You can track all your spending on the go with the BMO mobile app.
- Extended warranty and purchase protection: The BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard has extended warranty and purchase protection, giving you peace of mind.
Requirements for BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard
The BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard is available for everyone, but not everyone is eligible. Besides having a decent credit score, here are other requirements for using this card:
- Reach the age of majority (18 or 19, depending on your province/territory)
- Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- Meet the minimum income requirements
- Have no bankruptcy history in the past seven years.
In addition, you will be required to provide your full name, date of birth, SIN, address, contact info, income source(s), employment status, and rent or mortgage amount when applying for the BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard.
2. BMO CashBack Mastercard
- Annual Interest Rate on Purchase: 20.99%
- Annual Fee: $0
- Rewards: 5% introductory cashback for the first three months.
The BMO CashBack Mastercard is one of the best Mastercards in Canada, with a competitive introductory cashback rate and no annual fees.
This card offers a 5% introductory cashback rate for up to three months of new registration. Besides that, it offers competitive cashback on the following spending:
- Grocery spending = 3% cashback
- Recurring bills spendings = 1% cashback
- All other spendings = 0.5%
3. BMO CashBack Business Mastercard
- Annual Interest Rate on Purchase: 19.99%
- Annual Fee: $0
- Rewards: Variable
If you’re a business owner, the BMO CashBack Business Mastercard is one of the best business credit cards in Canada to consider.
Besides zero annual fees, the BMO CashBack Business Mastercard offers variable cashback rates on the following spending:
- Eligible purchases at Shell = 1.75% cashback
- Office supplies, gas stations, phones, or Internet spending = 1.5% cashback
- Every other purchase. = 0.75% cashback
That said, you will earn 10% introductory cashback during your first three months of membership after spending on office supplies, cell, gas, or phone/internet bills.
Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about unauthorised purchases because the card has a Liability Waiver Program.
4. BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard
- Annual Interest Rate on Purchase: 20.99%
- Annual Fee: $120
- Rewards: 1 mile on all $12 spent on a credit card and 3 miles on all $12 eligible purchases.
The BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard could be perfect if you travel frequently. While the card charges an annual fee and an above-average interest rate, it offers competing miles on eligible purchases.
The $120 annual fee is waived when you accumulate 2,000 bonus AIR Miles miles and activate a pop-up notification. You can enjoy 15% off on all your AIR MILES flights in North America with the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard.
Note: The income requirement is $80,000+ annual personal income or $150,000+ household income.
Final Thoughts on BMO Secured Credit Card Review
Secured credit cards can help individuals build or rebuild their credit scores. Although BMO does not offer a secured credit card, the BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard is a good alternative for individuals with decent credit scores.
The BMO Preferred Rate Mastercard offers a low-interest rate on purchases and cash advances, extended warranty and purchase protection, and financial insights.
Also, BMO offers other credit cards with different features, including the BMO CashBack Mastercard, BMO CashBack Business Mastercard, and BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard. However, if you prefer a secured credit card in Canada, you can consider options like the Home Trust Secured Visa or the Refresh Financial Secured Visa.
FAQs On BMO Secured Credit Cards
What Happens to My Security Deposit?
Your security deposit is locked until you pay off your complete balance. This is to protect your card provider against payment default. Once you pay off your complete balance, you can close your account and withdraw your complete deposit.
How Long Do You Have to Use a Secured Credit Card?
It depends on your credit card. You can use a secured card for 12 months to several years. However, you should cancel your secured card only when you’ve built a good credit score to qualify for an unsecured card.
What is the Minimum Deposit for a Secured Credit Card?
$200 or $300 is the minimum deposit for most secured credit card providers. While you can deposit more than the minimum deposit limit, you can’t deposit more than the maximum limit.
Do I Have Any Other Options?
Yes. Unsecured credit cards for bad credit are the best alternatives to secured cards. Other options include secured personal loans, secured lines of credit and other bad-credit-based loans.
Furthermore, you can consider borrowing money from family or friends or becoming an authorized user of someone’s card.
If you have more questions on this BMO Secured Credit Cards review, drop them in the comment section.
